Benjamin Franklin Fellowship

The Benjamin Franklin Fellowship—offered to all incoming Ph.D. students in our program—includes five years of support, with a base stipend of $23,000 per year, payable over ten months from September through June. Additionally, the fellowship pays your tuition, health insurance, and fees during those five years. Finally, the fellowship also offers three years of additional summer support at $3,800 per summer, payable in July and August (the student picks which summers she would like to receive this additional support). For your remaining summers, there are numerous opportunities at Penn to compete for other fellowships, as well as employment opportunities that are both remunerative and educationally valuable. Adding all these benefits together, the total value of one year of the Benjamin Franklin Fellowship in 2011-12 is approximately $53,000.